Dark Times Have Dark Ends
by JadedSilverLining
Summary: Before you start- I SAID. BEFORE. YOU. START. This is a bit of my personal self-reflection, inflating some of my own problems to some dark proportions. As far as this goes, this is a oneshot. If it people want more, then I might turn it into a bit more of a romance. I also entertained some ideas that would be the cause of some funny situations. If you don't like it, this is Sparta.


_Cats_ _or_ _Bats_ _?_

The psychosis that consists of normal life was more maddening than one would think. It produced a range of minds, from pure good and innocence to the insane and darkened hearts of the worst people imaginable. Vincent was… he didn't know where. All he knew was that the world was fucked and he'd rather not live in it. Because of this thought constantly eating up his subconscious, though he distracted himself with friends and fun things to do, he was often alone or with few friends and desperately trying to fit in. He'd seen loss, both of his own and of others; rage, sometimes blinded by his own; and even true joy, though only from the outside.

It would be foolish to think he could ever have his own. He knew the people around him cared for him, but he just could never grasp why. He wasn't deserving of supportive friends and family, was he? That one thought had become increasingly more conscious and refused to leave. He moved to London in an attempt to rid himself of this thought, but it only became increasingly more oppressive. There were days where he couldn't even force himself out of bed. One of these days, he was just going to… vanish.

But fate has a cruel sense of humor. He had met this girl one night at his work. She was beautiful, with blond, almost white hair. Her eyes were like dark rubies, hidden in the sand. What was strangest about her was the burgundy uniform and pale skin, though they fit well together. Vincent introduced himself, figuring she might be more likely to come back to his small bar and if he always had patrons, he would have to keep up shop. It was quiet, not much happened there, and when fights DID break out, Vincent slammed his fist down on the wooden counter it almost cracked and the situation often diffused itself. That night was one of the calmer ones.

 **Seras Victoria**

"Welcome to Hell's Taproom, I'm Vincent," the bartender said, his cheery smile hiding something. Seras almost immediately noticed it. He wasn't another freak trying to hide from Hellsing. This was a human pretending to be cheery and he was good. Well, good enough to fool your average bar hopper, that was.

"Ah, I'm waiting for my boss," she said, smiling kindly.

"Well that's pretty ballsy," Vincent said with a hollow laugh. Seras felt somewhat bad for him. He seemed like a genuinely nice person, which was probably why he hid his feelings rather than seeking help. Perhaps it was one of those things where you don't know why you feel that way, but you do. She looked towards the door and spotted Sir Integra walking through and smiled, watching as the older woman smiled back and took a seat next to her. This was going to be a long night it seemed.

Two hours pass and Seras has managed to open the man up a bit. Obviously not much more than what he'd let a stranger know, but the more she heard, the more she felt she wanted to do something for him. Well, Sir Integra got slightly more drunk than she had intended, so it was time to leave. He gave them two glasses of water to drink before they left and smiled.

"What's the water for?" Seras asked. He smiled, truly smiled, and let out a chuckle that seemed more real than what he'd done before.

"A hangover is mostly caused by the loss of water. Drinking a ton of water keeps a headache down," he said. Seras muttered thanks, keeping her boss upright when that stupid German catboy walked in. He seemed to be actively attempting to lead a normal life, but seeing us, his smile grew mischievous.

"Oh! I didn't expect to see you two here, of all people. Trying to take my man are we?" Schrodinger said. It was at that moment Seras realized the person before her wasn't a male at all. In fact, Schrodinger had curves that came within less than centimeters of her own and breasts that were at least slightly bigger. Talk about vanity; at least Seras was natural, not affected by supernatural powers.

"That is what you're here for, right?" she asked, giggling almost. It was then that Seras noticed a dangerous gleam in her eyes that seemed almost like a girlfriend trying to keep girls from chasing their man.

"Well if that's the case then back off. I've already got my eyes on him!" she growled dangerously. Seras was a little shocked. She smiled and decided to tease the cat... girl… thing... Who knew anymore?

"My my, has the Warrant Officer kitty cat of the once _proud_ Millennium become so frightened of others taking what's still untaken to go so far as to threaten others to prevent them from taking it first?" she laughed before walking out. Seras sighed heavily once she was out of an earshot and proceeded to carry her boss back to the Hellsing manor, musing her newfound ability to mock people. A few things began to nag at the back of her mind soon after. First off, Schrodinger seemed to have genuinely, and quite hopelessly at that, fallen for the bartender there; although that didn't mean he was out of the woods, per se. There might be some other organization rising from the ashes of Millennium and think he might be useful for something and would use Schrodinger as their connection and influence. Then there were the flecks of yellow in his eyes. While not unnatural, they definitely seemed supernaturally clear and he did smell a bit like Hans in a sense. Like a werewolf, to be frank. A massively diluted one, but a werewolf nonetheless.

"I'll need to speak with master and Sir Integra later. Soon, but not while she's drunk like this. She may not be completely out of it, but her judgment is still impaired enough," Seras moaned borderline complaining. She arrived back at the Hellsing manor and laid Integra back in bed and made sure she was comfortable and didn't sleep over her covers.

 **Schrodinger**

After that lamprey left, Schrodinger was one of the few people left in the bar. Vincent looked over to her and waved. She felt herself become weak at the knees and blushed. Forcing herself to take the appearance of being confident, she began to strut forward. Luckily, she didn't stumble. For a moment she saw him smile at her, truly smile, but the feeling was lost quickly. Schrodinger quickly lost her smile and couldn't help herself.

"Please, be honest with me. Do you find me attractive?" she asked. Vincent started and confused, stared before he sighed.

"I've seen many girls come in here. Many of them had hit on me before, but none of them left happy. I…" Vincent paused, unsure of how to phrase it.

"I don't plan on staying long," he said, looking away. Schrodinger knew that look. He wasn't talking about leaving town, the city, or even the country. And she didn't want to lose him. Especially not to the pain he kept to himself.

"No. I won't let you do that to yourself," Schrodinger promised, looking Vincent in the eyes and pulling his face to face her own.

"People come and go, but there are too few people like you who actually understand the people they talk to regularly."

 **Vincent**

Vincent was shocked, to say the least, but maintained a sense of control. He could see that Schrodinger was able to understand he was struggling with how to deal with her words- more accurately how to refute her- but he couldn't see more than that. Vincent checked the time to see how long until he had to close up shop. The clock had just struck twelve and he sighed.

' _Great, five more hours of dealing with her. Although, she's not too bad. Schrodinger is always ungodly frequent. Nearly every night, from opening till closing, like fucking clockwork. The blond was interesting too. I have a feeling I'm going to get involved in something whether I like it or no- HO~LY~SHIT!'_ Vincent thought as he vocalized his concerns.

"Button your top back up!" he exclaimed, being sure to keep his voice down so the drunkards nearer to the back didn't hear him. They might get handsy and he didn't wanna have to put anyone in the hospital for being an alcoholic moron. Schrodinger did so reluctantly, seeming upset with him.

"Look, I'm trying to keep you from doing something stupid and making me hospitalized five guys for putting their hands on you without asking!" he growled, his hushed voice making his statement sound almost like a threat. Schrodinger blushed and seemed taken aback by his words.

"Y-you'd do that for me?" she asked tentatively. Vincent looked her in the eyes and thought about his next words carefully.

"I can't say I care much for myself, but I won't sit by and just _let_ that kind of thing happen. To anyone," he said, scratching his cheek with one finger after he spoke. His face flushed slightly, but he wasn't sure if anyone could really see it. Besides, the bar was dimly lit for the sole purpose of watching drunk people try to find their way out. It was kind of funny. He watched as Schrodinger sighed, flashing him a flirty smile before leaving the bar.

"See ya, _Vincent_!" she said, giving his name an overly flirtatious tone. Once she was gone, he decided to close up early and actually helped his patrons out of the bar for the first time. He desperately needed to think. Seras

It had been almost a week since she met him and there was something that she couldn't quite place. Alucard had decided it was time to pay him a visit too, this time Seras was the second to arrive. The bar was open, but it seemed as though it was a slow day, considering no there was hardly anyone there. She was glad though. That meant he could be a little more open and she had been rather excited to see him again.

"You seem awfully chipper. What is it about him that's got you wound up?" the first vampire asked. Seras hummed in question before giving an answer.

"I'd have to say it's how he comes across. Then there's just the fact that his face is almost too easy to look at," Seras said, unable to help but imagine his face. She seemed far more relaxed than ever, even after she'd accepted her true vampiric nature...

"Hell's Taproom, back for seconds are ya, Blondie?" Vincent asked, jokingly. Then the other woman from that same night walked in, though the situation seemed drastically different than a simple night out. His smile flickered, and the older woman was followed by a man in a red trench coat. What a strange group.

"I can only assume you're not here for drinks. This doesn't feel like that night last week," he said, the man in red chuckling a bit.

"Looks like the hound can read the mood better than I thought. My name is Alucard, servant of the Hellsing organization," Alucard said, Vincent speaking before he thought.

"Wait, isn't that just Dr-" he began before Seras chimed in and cut him off.

"Anyway! On to business. Vincent, there's something you should know," the draculina said, Vincent looking around. There was no one else there yet. Perhaps this was a conversation best had behind closed doors.

"I should put the closed sign back up…" he said, walking to the door only for a certain catgirl to waltz in and sit herself down on one of the stools. She seemed to be ignoring the Hellsing crew in her bid to antagonize them. Alucard drew his gun and before a shot could be fired, Vincent shouted.

"HEY! YOU INCOMPETENT ASSHOLES! NO FIGHTING IN MY BAR OR I'LL BREAK YOU IN HALF AND USE YOUR SPINE AS A BAR STOOL!" he yelled, his voice holding more authority than even Alucard expected. The way Seras made him out to be was meek, avoiding his problems. But here he was, threatening the whole group it seemed.

"I think we all underestimated you," Alucard said with a wide grin, lowering his gun. Vincent was still slightly ticked that he had to pull out the threatening side of him.

"If you've got something to say, then say it. I'm really not in the mood for any of this stalling bullshit," Vincent said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Seras giggled a little and nodded.

"Right. Well, I think we should start off with proper introductions. I'm Seras Victoria and, much like my former master Alucard, servant of the Hellsing organization and full-fledged vampire. Sir Integra Hellsing-"

"Wait wait wait wait, vampires?! As in, Bram Stoker? **Abraham Van Helsing?!** " Vincent asked, interrupting with surprise and a little bit of fear. A natural reaction and one Seras couldn't help remember being similar to her own.

"I was surprised too, and by the time I'd found out I was already a vampire myself. But it becomes quite natural after a time, strangely enough!" Seras laughed, unable to keep the comparisons to her old self and Vincent from keeping in the forefront of her mind.

"Continuing, Sir Integra is my boss and is the head of the organization. As for the organization itself, we deal with supernatural happenings across several countries; working occasionally in tandem with, but more often competing with, Section XIII of the Vatican. They are known as the Iscariot organization. You, on the other hand, are a very special case. When Sir Integra and I had originally come here, the two of us had no idea who you were aside from the owner of this admittedly cozy bar. However, after a bit of digging, I found out the reason behind… well, I won't say for the sake of your privacy. But the reason you are the way you are is that you're not fully human. Some decades ago, a woman named Alison Blakesley married a man by the name of Damien Hallows. Damien was human; but his wife was a lycanthrope, werewolf if you prefer," Seras explained, her face growing concerned at Vincent's changed in expression.

"I'm _what_?" he asked, his face had drained of color and he practically fell onto a stool at the counter. He put a hand over his forehead and rested his elbow at the actual bar section.

"I'll let 'Felicia' introduce herself," Seras sighed, her eyes lingering on Vincent before shaking her head at the cat girl.

"Well, I wasn't always Felicia. My real identity is Schrodinger. I was an experiment created by a doctor in the Millennium organization, part of Hitler's occult research. My abilities follow the same idea as 'I think therefore I am' as well as the theory behind Schrodinger's cat, after which I was named. Which means if I wish to be a guy-" she began, pausing as if something was supposed to happen. Vincent deadpanned and sighed.

"Huh, guess I don't really want to. Oh well, there are _other_ ways for me to show you.~ Just give the word and I'll-" Vincent froze up and his face became beet red.

"NO! I am not going to even follow that train of thought down the rabbit hole," Vincent stood and grabbed her shoulders, looking dead into her eyes. Schrodinger blushed and stared back. Seras, though clever at schooling her features, was seething with jealousy. Alucard noticed right off the bat and Integra quickly realized behind, both developing a sly grin.

"Don't try and change yourself to suit what I want. Promise me," Vincent demanded, his voice eyes hardened and serious. Schrodinger's blush deepened, her jaw slightly open. She'd never had someone be so caring for her feelings. She was really into him now, and it began to show on her face as she planted a kiss on his cheek. This sent Seras into lividity, however, she was cut short as Integra decided to speak up.

"I believe it's time you were told why we're here. You may either join us, or you'll be under surveillance at all times. As human as you are, there's also the risk of others trying to use you for their own gain and turn you into a mindless beast whose sole existence is to follow their orders. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Integra asked.

"Working for you… what would that entail?" Vincent sounded like he felt there was some sort of catch. And depending on how he felt about the situation, there might be in his eyes. When the words left Integra's mouth, Seras could see the moment the internal conflict started.

"You must kill vampires and other things that go bump in the night on the rare occasion it's not a vampire and a band of ghouls. I will allow you to continue running this bar, but you will also be receiving a paycheck from us and will be called upon for training or a mission whenever we need you, Integra replied. While Vincent wasn't big on the idea of killing, vampires were still a threat in a way. They harmed the good citizens of London and turned people into their undead slaves. Then there was the fact that people dying both created and interfered with his business.

"Will I be treated any differently than your human employees, or will I have what you might call 'special treatment'?" he asked. The look in his eyes said it all. He was convinced, but not entirely a fan. There was also the dealing with Schrodinger, which seemed to be weighing on his mind if Seras knew anything about him.

"You will be treated as human, given your abilities are little more than somewhat enhanced," the older woman answered again. She looked to Schrodinger and sighed.

"As Millenium is now defunct, as well as you being only a pawn in their game, I will offer you a spot as well, however you are to not leave Mr. Blakesley's side save for anything of a perverse nature. Which means you are not to touch him in any way or try to peer into his private quarters," Integra said, leaving Vincent out of that order. He wasn't that kind of man.

"So that means he can-" Schrodinger began before Vincent slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Even if it wasn't said in any way or even implied, no I can't. I know how you think better than I'd like to, so no. And unfortunately for you; even in the event I was "allowed", I assume the only reason she never once said a word to me in that statement means she understands that I am not in any way like that," Vincent said in a deadpan tone, to which Integra chuckled before nodding.

"So, say I accept. Where do we go from there?" Vincent asked, his eyes giving away every bit of his intent. He'd already accepted, but he just wanted to make sure of what he was walking into before he said he said anything.

"Well, we would take you back to the Hellsing manor and get you fitted with a uniform. However, if you would prefer, we could put you in as our butler, as our current one is having some trouble doing tasks," Integra offered. Vincent seemed to loosen up at the idea of being a butler, where it was already fairly similar to his current job and the premise was fairly simple. But Integra saw the look on his face and sighed as now she had to break the bad news.

"Unfortunately I don't quite like the idea of butlers any more. The taste has soured. So you will start off with training. Seras will teach you the basics of firearms and-" she continued, Vincent shaking his head.

"You forget I'm from America. My father and I handled all sorts of guns, though nothing automatic, so I'll be a little stiff at first," he said, shrugging. Integra smiled. Americans always amused her insole way. Such a casual talk of guns was one, although she was raised with some more American values from what Seras could see. However, she could practically feel the dark cloud over him still beating down on him. It seemed as though Vincent, Seras, and as much as she hated to concede it, Schrodinger knew of his problem. Seras was keeping quiet about it because she felt that was his personal information, and Schrodinger was… She didn't know and for the life of her couldn't figure out why she-

"Vincent? Is something the matter with your arms? You've been fidgeting with your sleeves this whole conversation," Integra asked. Seras almost hadn't noticed it in the air from her sheer exuberance to see him again, but the smell of blood was increasingly more prevalent and Vincent seemed to be getting a little pale.

"Y-You…" Seras stuttered, her eyes widening as she watched him bleeding out. Her stomach churned, and for the first time in a long while, the sight of blood made her feel fear that nearly paralyzed her. As Vincent began to fall, the whole room nearly went into chaos, with Integra immediately pulling out her phone and the red-coated vampire swooping past both the cat and the draculina to catch him. A quick sliding of his sleeves revealed that both wrists were slit and the amount of blood he'd lost was already more than enough to make him pass out. It was lucky he was as in good health as he was because it meant he still had a chance- no matter how slim.


End file.
